I told my father and mother about sniffing my mate from the neighboring territory. At first, they were excited for me, but then they said I was not allowed off our territory under no circumstances. When I asked why, they said to not worry about it and we'd figure out who my mate was soon enough. So, I went to bed feeling nauseous and queasy, like something bad was going to happen.
My wolf was there to reassure me that our mate would find us if he hasn't already. She promised that when wolves scented their mates, it was the most alluring thing in the world to them, and they'd never get enough. My wolf said that the wind was blowing his way, so maybe he knows and is looking for us right now. I wasn't too sure, but let her hopes run wild.
The next morning, I found Loup wandering around. When he saw me, he asked if we could take a walk. I smiled and agreed happily. Apparently, Loup had never found his mate like he thought he would. He said he was able to take the title of Beta in his pack since the Alpha trusted him. I congratulated him on his title, and apologized for his lost mate. Talking about his mate, reminded me of mine and where he could be right now. I left Loup with his men around mid-afternoon to sulk in my room again.
Around supper time, my mother knocked on my door, which gave off vibrations I could feel in the floor boards. I allowed her to come in and looked up. "Hey, what's up?"
"We have an important guest tonight dining with us. Will you please come down and eat with us?"
I furrowed my brows. "Important guest? I thought that was for next week?"
She smiled softly. "This was last minute notice, even for us."
Shrugging, I place my paper and pencils down on my desk and follow her out the door. The minute we step into the hallway, my wolf goes wild. "He's here! He's here!"
I stop and inhale a deep breath. Woodsmoke and snow. I sigh. "Mom, who's our guest?"
"Lykaon. Son of Alpha Ariston of the Blue Oasis Pack up north."
"He's here! He's here! He's here!" my wolf continued to chant in my head excitedly.
My mom went ahead to finish the last preparation for the meal while I use the restroom and head to the living room. I don't enter though, wanting to see him before he sees me. First, in the living room, I see my father, talking softly to a young man with dark hair and tan skin. He looks to be muscular and tall, considering he almost reaches past my father's height. Beside this man was another man who stood with his hands in his pocket, slightly behind and to the left of his comrade.
Almost as if he could sense me, the man talking to my father snapped his head in my direction. I only peeked out at him with wide eyes. I'm not known for shyness, but for some reason, his physique made me want to hide: that and his title of Alpha's son.
"I won't hurt you," he says, his lips moving precisely with each word. My father says something to him, and suddenly, the man's whole body stiffens, along with his comrade's behind him. I silently curse my father for telling this man anything about me.
"Go on!" my wolf urges me.
"He's so tall, though! It's intimidating!" I tell her, still hiding. "And did you see his muscles?"
My wolf jumps around excitedly in my head. "We know he can protect us now!"
"What if he hurts us?"
"He's our mate. He won't do that!"
Suddenly, I realize I've been spaced out talking to my wolf and the man is standing right in front of me. I jump back in surprise, and he catches me before I can hit the small table behind me. "Woah, careful!" he says with a small smile.
I blink and glance behind him to see his comrade staring at me with consideration. I don't notice the man in front of me is talking and only catch, "…scared you. Are you okay?"
I grab onto his forearms to stand but a shock runs through me and I jump away from him. He lets go of me with his hands up in surrender, showing me, he is safe as tingles run through my fingers. I look down to see if maybe if I have blue sparks flickering from them, but I see nothing. "You just felt it!" my wolf confirms.
"Felt what?"
"Mating bond. That's your first sign he's your mate!"
"By shocking me?"
My wolf huffs a laugh. "Touch him again! It'll feel better this time!"
"I am not going to randomly touch him just to be shocked again!"
"He won't mind!"
"I mind."
"Just do it!"
Before I can do anything, a hand touches my shoulder and I jump. My father is standing beside my mate with a concerned look in his eyes. "Opal, are you alright?"
I glance to my mate, whose name I have forgotten, to see him watching me in calculating expression. "Shit! I think he thinks I'm weak!"
"No, he doesn't!" my wolf says with a sigh. "He's trying to understand you. He's never been around a wolf like you."
"That makes everything so much better!" I say dryly to her and she shrugs. I take a deep breath and step around my father toward my mate. He raises a brow and I see gray eyes watching me. As if he's reading my mind about touching him, he holds out his hand. I stare at it then glance to his eyes again.
My father comes around beside him and says, "He's just trying to help."
I furrow my brows, unsure. My wolf urges, "Don't worry. He'll be kind to us."
Swallowing my nerves, I grab his hand. I feel shocks again, but when I go to pull away, he tightens his grip slightly, keeping me from moving away. "Let go of me!" I snarl.
"Just wait," he says patiently.
I look to my father. "Make him let go before I—"
The man pulls me forward and into his chest. I gasp and rest my other hand on his shoulder, feeling tingles now. Closing my eyes, I let the tingles run throughout my body, giving me a wonderful sensation. One of his arms was wrapped around my lower back, holding me up from falling backwards as I just continued to feel.
He lets go of my hand and startles me by touching my eye lids softly. I open and look at him. His smile is soft and kind as he says, "Feel better?"
I furrow my brows and step back, suddenly feeling small. I look to my father and say, "May I be excused?"
My mate looks to my father as well as he did not know what I said, his grip on my body slightly tightening. He was saying something that I could not make out, but then my father said, "Would you like to go with her until the food is ready?"
I shake my head, but my mate seems to already be in motion, pulling me behind him towards the backyard. Behind me, his comrade follows and I suddenly feel trapped. Looking towards my mate, I suddenly get angry and pull out of his grip hard. Because I took him by surprise, I'm easily freed, and crossed my arms. He looks at me with shock and confusion and gestures to the door. I glare. "I'm not a child! I can walk on my own!"
He frowns and looks away, mutters something, then looks at me again. Walking up slowly, he says, "I'm sorry. I won't do that again. Will you please follow me?"
"No."
"Why not?"
My glare deepens. "I don't know you!"
He holds out his hand and smiles. "I'm Leckalm. I'm from up north in the Blue Oasis Pack."
I stare at him and see he's muscle everywhere and that the clothes he wears doesn't leave much to the imagination. His t-shirt was just a plain gray while he wore jeans low on his hips. His dark hair was messy but he was overall clean.
Leckalm glances behind me and frowns. When he looks at me, he tilts his head to one side and says, "Would you like to run?"
"Where?" I immediately ask.
He smiles. "You tell me." I must have looked shocked because he laughed and opened the door, stepping aside and ushering me through with a bow. I raise my brows at him in question. Leckalm says, "Ladies first."
I roll my eyes and walk past him and towards the stalls. When I go to shut myself in, I feel something stop the door and I look to see my mate looking at me in confusion. "Get out!" I hiss.
He looks around the tiny space and furrows his brows further. "What are you doing?"
"What do you mean?"
Leckalm tilts his head in even more confusion, then looks behind him at his comrade who's saying, "…they leave their clothes in there for safe keeping. And so, males don't see females and vice versa."
I furrow my brows. "Didn't you know that?"
Leckalm looks at me and shakes his head. "Rules are different in my pack." He lets go of the door and backs away a couple of steps. "I'm sorry. I'll wait out here."
Slowly, I close the door and wonder what kind of rules he has in his pack. "Who cares! Hurry up! My wolf urges greedily."
"Someone's excited!"
"Don't you understand? We'll be able to see his wolf!"
This makes me pause a moment before I smile. "His wolf!" So many images flew through my head of what it might look like. The possibilities were endless really.
I finished and let my wolf take over, shifting into my beautiful wolf. My wolf barks once then pushes the door open with her nose, strutting out towards our mate. His friend laughs and says, "I think she's showing off!"
My mate laughs but nods and kneels, holding out his hand. "She's beautiful!" My wolf's eyes brighten up at that and she bounds towards him, licking his hand and face. Leckalm rubs her head and behind her ears, gazing into our eyes with smiling grey eyes. "Can you hear me?"
My wolf barks twice as a way of answering.
"Lykaon, she's even tinier than we thought she was!"
My wolf tilts her head to the side, confusion swirling in our heads. Lykaon? "Klyn, she's perfect!"
I tell my wolf to leave now, to leave so I can think. She whimpers a complaint, but I threaten to take control back. So, she shakes off our mate's touch and bounds away.